Ornamentele versiering, mogelijk een lijst c. 1930

Curator: Welcome. Today, we're exploring a drawing by Carel Adolph Lion Cachet, believed to have been made around 1930. The title translates to "Ornamental Decoration, Possibly a List". It's an ink and pencil piece here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: Immediately, it strikes me as this frenetic dance of form around what appears to be a solid, almost brooding center. It's like the conscious trying to wrangle the unconscious, but perhaps failing? Curator: I see that. The solid center you describe contrasts heavily with the swirling, almost chaotic lines surrounding it. The interesting thing to me is Cachet's potential intention, his proposed “list,” hinting at underlying structure. It brings together geometric shapes that are, yes, fighting it out, with seemingly arbitrary flourishes. Editor: Is it arbitrary, though? The geometry we’re trained to think of as stable, grounded, right? Maybe those swirls are not arbitrary but expressive—the emotional reality around form. Consider what geometry represents, a world of certainty perhaps; then consider the freedom in these almost scribbled lines, and the freedom from definition, but also responsibility. Curator: That's a fabulous observation, almost liberating to think about responsibility like that! The lines *do* lend the image an ephemeral quality; as though it is actively shedding something, or remembering. There's something restless about it, for a design that is potentially for use. It brings to mind this duality of the freedom in the penwork versus a static "list" it might eventually create. Editor: And speaking of a possible "list", do we even need one? In an image, emotion has its own coherence. Maybe the ornamentation IS the message, the true, complex emotional architecture underlying everything we see? What is truly being created? And what are its potential intentions in that form, is what keeps me drawn in. Curator: Hmm, yes. It feels like there's more to this seemingly casual doodle than meets the eye. A world of its own being spun into existence. It suggests looking beyond pure functionality. The pure geometric potential becomes a field for exploration! Editor: Absolutely. These visuals carry a cultural weight. What do we value in a framework of expression or construction; but most of all, what’s it like to let ourselves flow within. A marvelous way to look, I think, into this piece.